U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy's chances of unseating Mary Landrieu in his bid for her Senate seat this year are getting better, according to the most recent polling data released Tuesday (Feb. 11). The Landrieu camp shrugged off the results as unsurprising, while Republicans -- and the polling firm -- said it was indicative of her dropping popularity in the face of her support of Obamacare.

The survey was performed by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a left-leaning firm based in Raleigh, N.C., which undertakes polling for Democratic candidates and politicians. Its results, which show Landrieu in a near dead-heat with Cassidy in a hypothetical two-way race, are similar to those from two other conservative-leaning polls released this year.

"The Louisiana Senate is a sheer toss up now," PPP President Dean Debnam said in a press release. "The difficulties with the launch of Obamacare seem to have really taken a toll on Mary Landrieu's standing."

A statement released with the polling results added it was "no coincidence" Landrieu's disapproval rating of 52 percent was nearly identical to the rate of respondents who said they disapproved of Obamacare. Landrieu's current 37 percent approval rating represent a major drop from her August 2013 numbers from the same firm, which had her at 46 percent approval.

Republican National Committee Spokesman Michael Short took the opportunity to reiterate his party's fierce opposition to Obamacare and Landrieu's re-election: "After supporting President Obama's agenda 97 percent of the time -- including ObamaCare and its insurance policy cancellations -- Mary Landrieu's reelection chances are growing dimmer by the day."

In Louisiana's blanket primary system, all candidates run against each other in the first round regardless of party. If no one candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff is triggered.

In a hypothetical runoff, the poll said the Landrieu-Cassidy split would be 45-44 with 10 percent undecided. Landrieu also lost significant ground here since August, where she was a full 10 points ahead of Cassidy with 50 percent of the vote in a runoff.

The poll showed state Rep. Paul Hollis, R-Baton Rouge, and tea party favorite Rob Maness were relative non-entities in the primary vote, garnering 5 and 3 percent respectively. But when put up against only Landrieu in a runoff and identified as Republicans, the margin between the two and the Democratic incumbent shrunk to five or six points.

This is more a testament to an "anyone but Landrieu" mode of thinking, as at least two-thirds of poll respondents chose the option "not sure" when asked how they felt about Hollis and Maness.

All else equal, the polling firm said it would be likely Landrieu would
be pushed into a runoff with Cassidy come November. The only major
outlier would be the entrance of another Republican into the race that
could shift points away from Cassidy or toward Landrieu.

Enter Phil Robertson, patriarch of the family made famous by the reality TV show "Duck Dynasty." He is not a declared candidate for the race, but his name has been bandied about for multiple local and statewide elections this year as he and his family become more active in Louisiana's political scene.

While the poll results show the controversial founder of Duck Commander cannot gain enough traction in the primary to make it into the runoff, a hypothetical two-way race between him and Landrieu has Robertson besting the incumbent by four points.

Landrieu Campaign Manager Adam Sullivan said she will continue to focus on issues like delaying flood insurance premium hikes and protecting the oil and gas industry in the face of such polling numbers.

"Sen. Landrieu has always said that this will be a close race until the very end. The polls will go up and down, but her focus is on the issues and challenges facing Louisiana," Sullivan said in a statement.

The firm polled 635 likely Louisiana voters by phone and online between Feb. 6 and 9. The margin of error was +/- 3.9 percent. Of those polled, 46 percent said they were somewhat or very conservative, with 32 percent identifying as moderate. These numbers are roughly in line with those polled in PPP's August survey.

The respondents identified as 42 percent Democrat and 38 percent Republican, with the remainder Independent. More than half said they voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election and 28 percent were African-American.